Trelock Telephone Dial Lock

[Huw Eastwood]

Found this one in with the Lassman combo pads- another I didn't know I had.

I know Adrian's got a thing about these- it's not very old- could be as recent as the 1980s from the style of packaging- it's circa Berlin-Wall-division though, evident from the 'Made in Western-Germany'. Unusual little locks and they're a bit of fun anyway- my 2 teenagers can't even imagine the concept of a phone which could be manually locked with one of these

[Adrian Weber]

Uhhhhh want want want!!!!

I can post a picture of my phone dial padlock collection later, got quite a few now and only some are missing!

[KitBear]

Undoubtedly Abus copied or visa versa because I have about 6 in my collection, they made a Brass version which I did have once but went walkies somewhere never to be seen again, mine are all Chrome KA.

These don't offer any sort of security (3pins) and can be picked without difficulty, heck, I've opened mine by just putting pressure on the tailpiece and inserting the pick and it opened .

The first time I saw one was when I was about 11 in school (brass Version), I never tried to pick it because it was in a public area and had no idea how long it would take and so just left it, Wish I had now, Free phone calls :)

[KitBear]

Found this one in with the Lassman combo pads- another I didn't know I had.

I know Adrian's got a thing about these- it's not very old- could be as recent as the 1980s from the style of packaging- it's circa Berlin-Wall-division though, evident from the 'Made in Western-Germany'. Unusual little locks and they're a bit of fun anyway- my 2 teenagers can't even imagine the concept of a phone which could be manually locked with one of these

They'll understand quite perfectly if you removed their mobile phones and replaced the house phone with a rotary dial with one of these on it

[Adrian Weber]

Hey Kit,

back in the day nobody really thought about manipulation and the Zeiss Ikon telephone dial lock is not that easy because due to tight tolerances and a decent keyway.

Anyway, we do normally talk about history here and not this other topic! I have the older version of the Zeiss Ikon telephone dial lock which was chrome plated and had 2 screws at the back in order to be able to take it apart. I believe I posted pictures of it once. Interestingly you can tell how old it is by the logo of it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLDJje_n2Vs

Adrian

[KitBear]

Those are very nice, If I had to choose between them it would be the 1936 because it just looks like it's been built better.

I try not to talk about manipulation etc but I thought it was worth a mention because the older telephone locks seem to be of a better quality as you have kindly illustrated, unusually lower quality than I expected from Abus.

Kit

[Adrian Weber]

Hey Kit,

good point!

The Abus does have a paracentric keyway but is not nearly as tight as the Zeiss Ikon, at least as far as I can remember. I can post a picture as soon as I am back home, which will probably be on Sunday.

The older and the newer Zeiss Ikon do have the same quality trust me, they differ a little in size and finish + the old one can be taken apart where as the new one has a pin that holds the back in place. Both are of very good quality though.

I do however also prefer the older one a bit

Adrian

[Huw Eastwood]

I'll go along with tight tolerances on the Zeiss Ikon's Adrian! I only ever used to encounter a few of their small locks back in the 1980s and can't remember what models or series they were from but they pretty much put everything else to shame! They were very difficult to pick and even trying to shim one apart on the bench with a shim and key blank was a nightmare as the fit of the plug in the cylinder was so tight it eluded even the thinnest shims- very well made locks and unbelievable really for what was a small 'everyday' pin tumbler cylinder.

I don't think any of the manufacturers of these small types of device were intent on bank vault level security though- they were after all, made purposely for the dial of the telephones of the day, and also I think mainly intended only for domestic use. Other similar locks were the same. These Burg and Guard 'blockers' spring to mind- for 99% of cases I think they did their job and acted as an adequate deterrent. All of these had their little faults and weaknesses but overall I think they worked well for what was intended- Zeiss sure did set a standard above most of them though through sheer precision and tolerances

[Adrian Weber]

You got me hooked Max!

Here is a picture of my old Zeiss Ikon telephone lock, keep in mind that this beauty is from the 30s I believe that my piece is even older than the one from the museum, since my number is lower and the piece from the museum does not have any screws at the back of the cam.

http://www.zeiss-ikon-schlossmuseum....ss_sl_368.html

Here is a picture of how and at what telephone device it was used, the old Siemens Bakelit telephones, I wish I had one:
http://www.zeiss-ikon-schlossmuseum....onschloss.html

In my opinion this telephone dial lock was a master piece both in design and security. The inner plug features a step just like on modern euro profile cylinders, making shimming nearly impossible. The screws at the back of the lock could possibly be sealed with lead, but this is just an assumption. The keyway is very tight. The newer model from the 70s could not be taken apart and had a dull finish instead of a shiny finish. I love their design and that the body comes together when unlocking it and moving the cam in the right position.

Very beautiful and a master piece of my collection.

Adrian

[Huw Eastwood]

That's a beauty Adrian- great to have it all complete and shows real tribute to Zeiss that they maintained their high standards even on something as straightforward as one of these.

I found yet another I didn't know I had until a week or so ago- it's worlds away from the quality of your Zeiss, but with these already 'a lock of the past' it's a nice find all the same.



Mico made a lot of 'budget' products back in the 1970s and 80s. Surprisingly this little dial lock seems very well made compared to their other cylinders I remember- some were so badly made that the plug would be at the '5 to' or '5 past' position when the key was removed. Others were even worse- upper and lower pin chambers so badly misaligned that you could remove a key and the pins wouldn't lock, leaving the plug free to turn. I guess this little guy came out lucky
Adrian- if your Zeiss Ikon is the Maybach of teledial locks, then I think this one's a Yugo